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Trump wanted Barr to hold news conference saying the president broke no laws in call with Ukrainian leader — President Trump wanted Attorney General William P. Barr to hold a news conference declaring the commander in chief had broken no laws during a phone call in which he pressed …
Discussion:
The Week, The Hill, Political Wire and Mediaite

Senate president: Kentucky governor's race could be decided by state legislature — Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers threw another wrench into the state's razor-thin gubernatorial outcome late Tuesday night, saying that the legislature could decide the race.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, HuffPost, Shareblue Media, Vox, The Atlantic, Politico, Libertarian Party of Kentucky, Alternet.org, CNN, Instapundit, WKRC, Gizmodo, Occupy Democrats, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Resurgent, Common Dreams, New York Times, Fox News, Associated Press, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway and The Week
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The Trump-era realignment is a death sentence for the GOP — Gov. Matt Bevin's loss should send a message to embattled Republicans in Trump Country: President Trump is not going to save you if you're drowning. — Republicans' loss of both chambers of Virginia's legislature should send …
Discussion:
Raw Story

The Suburban Backlash Against the GOP Is Growing — The shift of metro areas away from the Republican Party under President Donald Trump rumbled on in yesterday's elections, threatening the fundamental calculation of his 2020 reelection plan. — Amid all the various local factors that shaped GOP losses …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Rolling Stone, Axios, Los Angeles Times and National Review

Trump plows ahead despite fresh signs of trouble in 2020
Discussion:
Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Beast
Julia Terruso / Inquirer.com:
The blue wave crashes down on Pennsylvania again, as voters from Philly to Delaware County turn left
The blue wave crashes down on Pennsylvania again, as voters from Philly to Delaware County turn left
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, New York Daily News, The Hill, Daily American, Bloomberg, PJ Media Home, Occupy Democrats, West Chester, PA Patch, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Mary Sue, Alternet.org, Indianapolis Star, abc7NY, Shareblue Media, VICE, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, CBS Philly, Raw Story and Fortune
Joe Sonka / Courier-Journal:
A Bevin-Beshear recount? These are the possible next steps under Kentucky election law
A Bevin-Beshear recount? These are the possible next steps under Kentucky election law
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
What GOP spin about last night's losses says about Trump's weakness
What GOP spin about last night's losses says about Trump's weakness
Discussion:
The Hill, NBC News, The Mahablog, Townhall, Roll Call and Rolling Stone
Daniel Desrochers / Lexington Herald-Leader:
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin asks for recanvass in governor election. What happens next?
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin asks for recanvass in governor election. What happens next?
Discussion:
NPR, Courier-Journal and University of Kentucky

Former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia by digging into the accounts of kingdom critics — The Justice Department has charged two former Twitter employees with spying for Saudi Arabia in a case that raises concerns about the ability of Silicon Valley to protect …
Discussion:
Axios, The Wrap, CyberScoop, The Daily Caller, Gizmodo, Engadget, The Week, New York Post, The Verge and News Breaking, more at Techmeme »
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Daisy Nguyen / Associated Press:
US: Saudis recruited Twitter workers to spy on users — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Saudi government recruited two Twitter employees to get personal account information of their critics, prosecutors said Wednesday. — A complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco detailed …
Discussion:
TechCrunch and Political Wire

Facing Investigation, Giuliani Needed a Lawyer, but Firms Stayed Away — After weeks of looking, Mr. Giuliani said he assembled a legal team to represent him as he comes under scrutiny from federal prosecutors. — President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani …
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Axios, Raw Story, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
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Giuliani lawyers up as impeachment probe deepens — Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, announced Wednesday he'd obtained new legal representation as part of the House impeachment inquiry and amid federal scrutiny of his business dealings in Ukraine.
Discussion:
Associated Press, NBC News, One America News Network and Outside the Beltway

Impeachment transcripts reveal a consistent, damaging narrative for Trump
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill and Alternet.org

CIA staff complained about Obama White House's political correctness, new book claims — A new book claims that top CIA employees have compared President Trump favorably to his predecessor, indicating that former President Barack Obama's administration micromanaged intelligence matters and was too concerned with political correctness.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Contemptor, The Mary Sue, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Alternet.org, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Raw Story
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Fox News brass to network hosts and personalities: Do not identify the whistleblower — New York (CNN Business)Fox News hosts and personalities have been instructed over the last several days not to identify the whistleblower whose complaint sparked an impeachment probe against President Trump …
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NBC News, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Mediaite and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Lindsey Graham claims Trump is too incompetent to pull off a quid pro quo — Well, it wasn't the most flattering defense. — While Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has said it's actually becoming easier to defend President Trump amid the congressional impeachment inquiry, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had to dig deep to do so on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, Vox, The Daily Caller and Townhall
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Alabama SGA warns groups: Protest Trump during LSU game, risk losing reserved seating — The Student Government Association at the University of Alabama is warning groups that protesting President Trump during the Tide's Saturday game vs. LSU could result in loss of reserved seating for the remainder of the season.
Discussion:
Fox News, Sports Illustrated, CollegeFootballTalk, The Hill, IJR, Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Bill Gates Goes After Warren on Wealth Tax, Won't Commit to Backing Her Over Trump: Voting for Whoever's ‘More Professional’ — Wall Street has not been shy in expressing reservations over Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) presidential candidacy — given her desire to install a wealth tax.
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Sessions inches closer to announcing Alabama Senate bid — Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is expected to announce plans to run for his former Senate seat before Friday, two sources told The Hill. — A source who is in regular contact with Sessions said Wednesday there is …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Axios, Politico, Townhall, Breitbart, Big League Politics and The Week
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Thanks to Rand Paul, Russian Media Are Naming the Alleged Whistleblower — Outing “the whistleblower” is the most egregious, but certainly not the only, example of Kremlin-funded media cheerleading the fight against impeachment. They love “their” Trump. — Standing beside an approving Donald Trump …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Alternet.org, The Week, VICE and Washington Post
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Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
House GOP Lawyer Tried to Out Whistleblower in Bill Taylor Interview
House GOP Lawyer Tried to Out Whistleblower in Bill Taylor Interview
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and NBC News

Trump Spiritual Adviser Paula White Prays Against President's Opponents, Suggests They ‘Operate in Sorcery and Witchcraft’ — President Donald Trump's personal spiritual adviser, Paula White, launched a prayer effort alongside other evangelical Christian leaders on Tuesday …
Discussion:
DeadState

Scoop: ABC News/Epstein — I hope you'll subscribe to my newsletter by clicking the button above or the button at the end of this post. Please follow me on Twitter and Instagram. — Scoop: ABC News Executives Believe They Have Identified Former Employee Who Accessed Amy Robach Hot Mic Footage
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The Daily Caller, Redstate, Spectator USA, Ed Driscoll, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy and National Review

Tucson voters overwhelmingly strike down ‘sanctuary city’ proposal — From the 2019 election results: Regina Romero becomes Tucson's first Latina mayor, ‘Sanctuary city’ initiative rejected series — Tucson voters overwhelmingly opted against the “sanctuary city” initiative …
Discussion:
Townhall, tucson.com, National Review, The Daily Caller and Twitchy
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Sam Radwany / KGUN-TV:
Tucson voters soundly reject ‘sanctuary city’ initiative
Tucson voters soundly reject ‘sanctuary city’ initiative
Discussion:
Conservative Review, American Greatness and PJ Media Home

Federal judge raises possibility of compromise in House Democrats' suit for Trump's tax returns — A federal judge said Wednesday that he'd like to see if compromise is possible in House Democrats' lawsuit seeking President Donald Trump's long-hidden tax returns.
Discussion:
The Hill
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Laura Davison / Bloomberg:
Judge Signals Support for Democrats to Seek Trump's Tax Returns
Judge Signals Support for Democrats to Seek Trump's Tax Returns
Discussion:
Raw Story

Halperin's ‘How to Beat Trump’ sells 502 copies in 1st week — NEW YORK — Mark Halperin's first book since his career was upended by allegations of sexual harassment is clearly no “Game Change.” — “How to Beat Trump” sold just 502 copies in its first week.

How Mike Pence's Office Meddled in Foreign Aid to Reroute Money to Favored Christian Groups — Officials at USAID warned that favoring Christian groups in Iraq could be unconstitutional and inflame religious tensions. When one colleague lost her job, they said she had been “Penced.”
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, LGBTQ Nation, Shareblue Media and Friendly Atheist

A bright blue Virginia leaves the Confederacy behind — With the Democratic sweep in Richmond, protecting Civil War monuments won't be high on the agenda in the town that was once the seat of the Lost Cause. — The Confederacy in Virginia is dead. And Donald Trump presided.
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‘Coup has started,’ whistleblower's attorney said in 2017 posts calling for impeachment — Report: Lawyer for whistleblower says client is willing to answer GOP questions in impeachment probe — Mark Zaid, one of the attorneys representing the whistleblower at the center …
Discussion:
Washington Times, Townhall, Breitbart, PJ Media Home and The Gateway Pundit

Leaked documents show Facebook leveraged user data to fight rivals and help friends — NBC News is releasing almost 7,000 pages of leaked documents showing how Facebook treated user data as a bargaining chip with external app developers. — A cache of leaked Facebook documents shows how the company's CEO …
Discussion:
Politico, Mashable, Fox News, Breitbart, New York Times and Common Dreams, more at Techmeme »

Kentucky GOP files complaint against potential McConnell challenger — The Kentucky Republican Party filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Wednesday accusing Democrat Matt Jones of “serious violations” of campaign regulations. — The state GOP said Jones …

U.S. victims in Mexico massacre were tied to family with a long history of violence — The roadside killings of nine U.S. citizens in northern Mexico has brought renewed attention to the scattered communities of Mormons who settled in the country more than a century ago to escape persecution.
Discussion:
USA Today, Twitchy, Louder With Crowder, Townhall, New York Times and Redstate